My Way

Arranger Don Costa's style, simultaneously modern and classic, was the sparkplug of Sinatra's late-'60s/early '70s releases, and MY WAY is the album that raised the bar for the recordings that followed. Throughout, Sinatra shows off so many different sides of his talent that it's hard to get past the admiration of his diversity, beyond which there's a whole separate level of enjoyment to be had in the individual performances. On Ray Charles's "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" he's eminently soulful and swinging. He plumbs the depths of his soul for the bittersweet touch of "Yesterday" and Jacques Brel's "If You Go Away". Sinatra delivers his manifesto on the epic title track, in which he looks back on a life of determined individualism with both pride and a harsh sense of reality.

CD Review - Perf 10 / Sound 9

High Fidelity - Negative